


Mining and Takeaway

by MasonRust



Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: Family, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-22
Updated: 2015-11-22
Packaged: 2018-05-02 19:01:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5260064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MasonRust/pseuds/MasonRust
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a mission, the boys grab some much wanted fast food.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mining and Takeaway

The mine had been a write off – explosions and cave-ins galore – and had taken them the last 8 hours to fully evacuate and rescue all personnel. They hadn’t gotten everyone, and Gordon was sitting next to the deployed module staring into the dirt. He was covered in soot, and there was a burn down the side of his face. The medic said it didn’t look too bad and had slapped some antiseptic and a plaster over it for him. But there wasn’t a bandage for the three people who had been closer to the fire. No, for them there were coffins and life support. Shaking his head at the sudden morbid thought, Scott directed the last ambulance towards the entrance as Virgil finished loading up 2. There was a dirty bandage wrapped around his bicep and soot on his face. Virgil looked as bad as Gordon, but he’d been working on the cave-ins. Scott probably didn’t look so good himself, and he had to wave off one of the medics as he made his way over to the others. Alan had joined Virgil, and his eyes were wide. They’d all come out a little worse for wear. Gordon looked up as Scott approached, managing a slight smile.   
“I’m bloody starving.”  
“I could do with some food.”  
Virgil dusted off his pants as he spoke, but only succeeded in smearing more soot across the blue material.   
“Something with too much salt and fat.”  
Scott looked down at Gordon, and found himself smiling.   
“Sounds like a plan”

When the four of them walk into the fast food joint, still covered in soot and dust with shirts and pants pulled hastily over their uniforms, they almost give the poor girl behind the counter a heart attack. It was nearing 3 in the morning, and almost the end of her shift, and the last thing she needed was young men that looked like they had been on the losing side of a fight. Instead however, they ordered their food quietly and sat at one of the tables in the corner, relatively calmly. When she called out the number, the tallest retrieved it with a smile. He tipped well. 

“Heart attacks all around.”  
Scott distributed the food and they tucked in. Thankfully, no-one (Gordon in particular) was too feisty: the prospect of filling their bodies with an early death was too tempting for mischief. As they ate, stuffing their faces with chips and burgers, they got the occasional look from entering patrons and the staff themselves. Scott only picked at his food, and Gordon was staring into his chips like they held the answers of the universe.   
“Gordon? You okay?”  
Scott asked the question despite the obvious answer. If it had been Virgil the sarcastic reply would have made him feel a tad guilty about the fact he was letting his younger brothers risk their lives, seeing things along the way no-one under the age of 20 should see. But Gordon wasn’t Virgil and he gave Scott a small smile.   
“Fine.”  
He made a mental note to have a chat to Gordon after they finished debriefing. Gordon seemed to shake himself, throwing off whatever blanket he was sinking under and dug into his chips with gusto. The earlier professed hunger seemed to have arrived. Virgil tapped the table with a hand.   
“Anyone for seconds?”  
They all agreed and this time he wandered up to the counter to flirt with the woman. When he returned it was with what could only be described as a platter of death. They dug back in and Scott managed to have another bite of his first burger.   
“Hey”  
Gordon spoke around a mouthful of hamburger.   
“Did anyone tell John we were taking 5?”  
Virgil winced and looked at Scott.   
“No.”  
That got a small giggle from Alan.   
“He’s going to be so pissed.”  
“He’s just jealous of all this.”  
Gordon swept his arm across the table and stuffed another handful of chips into his mouth. Scott managed a small smile but he could feel tiredness tugging at the corners of his eyes. Leaning back in his chair he propped his legs on the table legs and watched Alan and Gordon get into a poking fight. Virgil moved onto Gordon’s chips but he didn’t notice, too busy trying to punch Alan in the upper arm without Scott noticing. As long as it didn’t bruise, he didn’t care, and Scott shut his eyes for a moment, a headache starting just below his right eye.   
“Hey! You get your own!”  
There sound of a fist hitting the material of Virgil’s arm and then silence. Dead silence. Scott opened his eyes and chuckled. Gordon had the kind of expression that he often wore when he’d gone too far, and Virgil was looking at him right in the eyes. Alan developed a sudden interest in his own food.   
“Did you just hit me?”  
“It was just a tap Virge, I swear.”  
Virgil narrowed his eyes but there was a smile tugging on the corners of his mouth. Before Gordon could even think about blocking it, Virgil clocked him in the shoulder hard enough to send him into Alan and then onto the floor.   
“Ow! I didn’t hit you that hard.”  
Pulling Gordon’s food in front of him Virgil shrugged.   
“It was just a tap.”  
Scott knew trouble before Gordon even pulled himself off the floor. Having four brothers made it one of his more developed senses.   
“Guys.”  
Gordon replaced his fist and looked at Scott. He shook his head and Gordon rolled his eyes but sat down anyway. Virgil finished Gordon’s food grinning to himself and looked over at Scotts.   
“You going to eat that?”  
“No.”  
He pushed that over towards the mountain and Virgil tucked into his fourth burger.   
“Man, how many stomachs do you have?”  
Virgil shrugged.  
“Six.”  
Gordon pilfered the rest of Scott’s chips Scott looked over at Alan. His chin was on his chest and his eyes were closed. The boy could sleep anywhere.   
“Virgil.”  
The other two looked over and Virgil grinned while Gordon shook his head in disbelief. Finishing up the last of the food Virgil stood.   
“We better get back before John blows a fuse.”  
Gordon winced.  
“He won’t blow a fuse, he just won’t talk to us for a day and turn the hot water off again.”  
“Either way, it’s time for damage control.”  
The joke didn’t get a laugh but sudden silence, Gordon’s expression suddenly unguarded. That was what they were often called when it got bad. Damage control. Shaking his head, Virgil tapped Alan on the shoulder. He didn’t stir. Virgil hoisted him up and made his way out of the table carrying him. He looked like a child in comparison to Virgil, and Scott found his gut suddenly guilty. He was just a child.   
“It’s not your choice Scott it’s ours. We want to do this.”  
“You may Virge but he’s 14. He shouldn’t- never mind”  
Scott cut himself off and led the way back out to the parking lot. All the way he could feel Gordon and Virgil’s eyes on his back. The sight was almost ridiculous: two enormous machines crouched on the black asphalt like monsters, both of them parked according to the parking rules. The only difference was that 2 took up a ridiculous amount of spaces. Gordon was looking at his feet, lips pursed, while they shuffled in the cool air. Scott and Virgil made eyes over the expression, but then he looked up, a grin on his face. It was impossible to tell if it was genuine or fake.  
“Race you!”  
And he was off across the asphalt. Virgil looked at Scott.   
“I better catch up before he leaves without me. I’ll see you at home.”  
“Good luck.”  
And then Virgil was in pursuit, Alan tucked into his body while he ran. Scott watched them but didn’t move, even as Virgil fired up 2 and it lifted into the air. The world was suddenly very quiet, the air suddenly still. There was a cool breeze and Scott tipped his head back to look at the sky. It was almost sad how few stars winked back at him. The light pollution in the city was terrible as compared to the island. His communicator beeped loud enough to make him start.   
“Scott.”  
“Sorry John, but food was desired and food-“  
“Was delivered. Next time give me some warning before going off the grid.”  
“Hey, nothing else tonight okay? Everyone’s pretty tired.”  
“Is Gordon okay?”  
“Probably not.”  
No-one was okay after seeing three people burn to death.   
“I’ll talk to him.”  
Not a talk he was looking forward to, Scott lapsed into silence, watching the sky.   
“See anything good?”  
“Not compared to home. We won the technology wars John, but we gave up the stars to do it.”  
“Quite a price.”  
“You would say so.”  
“So would you.”  
Scott could hear John stretch and yawn over the communicator.   
“Get your ass home Scotty.”  
“FAB”  
With a last look at the light polluted sky, Scott climbed into 1 and started the engine. It was going to be a long morning.


End file.
